The Witch Hunt
by Errand Girl
Summary: Joey has a secret... several actually. First: He is actually a she. Long story... Second: she's a singer that everyone in Domino hears but never sees. And Third: ...Well... Yugi isn't the only one with a past life. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh


Josephine Wheeler was a girl with many secrets. First one was obvious. She was a girl that pretended to be a guy. Why? ...Have you see her father? Probably not, since that was her second secret. She was living with an abusive and alcoholic father, who always wanted a son instead of a daughter. The third secret was one that was quite big. Heard of the singer 'Ruin'? Most likely, she's been all the rage in Domino recently. Yeah, well, that's her. That's right, Josie, more commonly known as Joey, is a singer. The fourth secret is one that makes her heart break every time she thinks about it. Shall I tell you what it is?

Joey yawned as she sat up in bed. She looked over at her clock and blinked. 7:00 am? She hadn't woken up that early since... never. Joey hopped out of bed, getting changed into her usual green jacket, then looked around for her song folder. Finally finding it she stuffed it in her backpack and rushed out of the house. It wasn't a school day, but she didn't want to be in that apartment any longer then she had to, besides she had a recording today.

Now, you're probably wondering by now. How can Joey be a singer and keep it a secret? There are two answers to that. First, she sings as a girl. When she sings, she drops the fake guy voice she'd perfected over the years and sings just as her. And second, no one's seen her except the recording staff, and they're legally obligated to keep her identity a secret. So yes, she only records her songs and sells them, she's never done an onstage live performance. And that's how she's keeping it.

She walked into the recording studio and smiled. "Hey ya, Yoko."

The short, brown haired girl turned to look at her and smiled. "Hey ya, Jo. You got that last song ready?"

Joey nodded and pulled out her folder, handing it to Yoko. Yoko looked through it and found the last song in the folder. Quickly looking at it she raised an eyebrow. She knew this song. Joey had brought it along once before as a mistake and had snatched it back claiming that it wasn't finished.

"The 'Witch Hunt'?" Yoko asked. "Jo, are you sure?" Joey looked at her in confusion. "I mean, you've been 'working on' this song for so long. It's obvious that this song means a lot to you, are you sure your ready to let it go?"

Joey smiled. Yoko was a good friend. "I'm sure. I think I've been holdin' onto it long enough."

Yoko smiled and they began. Joey was incredibly picky when it came to her music. She wouldn't let it be released until she was 100% satisfied with it. Which was why they were working on it now even though there was still a month before the release date. As it turned out, they didn't get it done today. Joey wasn't satisfied with how her voice sung the words of the song. But they still had time, the sound track was still being compiled. They had time for Joey to find the heart of her voice.

Joey walked down the path to Yugi's, yawning. She'd been up most of last night trying to find the way to get the emotion of her words to come out, but every time she thought she had it, it slipped away. He walked into the shop tiredly.

"Hey ya, everyone." He yawned.

"Joey, why do you look so tired?" Tea asked.

"Been up playing video games all night again?" Tristan asked smugly.

"Shut up." Joey snapped bopping him on the chin lightly.

"I see you're all still as foolish as ever." Said an all too familiar voice from the door.

_Damn it_. Joey thought miserably. Of all times, why when she... when 'Ruin' was working on that song? Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you, secret number four: Seto Kaiba. The biggest jerk, Joey had ever met, and the one she had feelings for.

"What do you want Kaiba?" Joey asked in annoyance.

"I'm here dropping someone off." Kaiba said dryly.

Mokuba pocked his head out from behind his brother. "Hi."

"Hey Mokuba." Yugi greeted their young friend.

They all stood around the shop talking until Joey said that he had to run off to work. He dashed out and towards the studio, not knowing that his friends, curious as to was his job was, were following her.

They were all shocked when they saw Joey go into the record studio White Queen. What job would Joey have there? They followed him in and told that they were looking for their friend and described him to the half distracted receptionist.

"Oh, little Jo? Just down the hall, third door on the left." She said.

They thanked her and went to the door she'd pointed out to them. When they got there they peaked in and saw Joey talking to a short, brown haired girl. Joey was holding some papers in his hand and sad look on his face. Finally Joey nodded... and walked right into the sound proof part of the room. Was he testing the equipment? The brunet told something to Joey and he nodded before putting on a pair of headphones. Then she turned to the door and walked over quickly, pulling it open.

"If you lot what to listen, hurry up and get in here, before Jo notices." She told them all.

They all scrambled in, keeping low so that Joey wouldn't see them through the window. The brunet sat back in the chair.

"Okay, Jo. All set." She said.

"Good." Joey said in a feminine voice. "Let's hit it, Yoko."

Yoko pressed the record button. Joey closed his eyes briefly before he began to sing. That feminine voice never faltering. The group all looked at each other in shock. That voice sounded just like the singer Ruin's voice. But it couldn't be, could it?

Meanwhile Joey was in the grasp of a sad and painful memory. A memory from a time long passed, and a life, long since ended. The life when she'd fallen in love with a prince.

Josephina Willow was a poor girl, but she was very bright. Many in the small town she called home were friendly to her. She was walking home after a visit to the market when it happened. A strong gust of wind had picked up and blown off her bandana. Quickly she gave chase after it. As she chased, it slowly drifted down to the ground. When she was finally about to catch up to it, someone else had caught it first. There standing before her was the prince of the land. He was tall, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a long white coat and an air of gentleness about him.

"Y-your highness." Josephina gasped as she approached him. "Excuse me. But that bandana you have there, it's mine. May I have it back?"

The young prince smiled at her. "Of cause you can, miss..."

"Josephina, your grace" She replied with a curtsy. "Josephina Willow."

"Josephina. That's a lovely name." The young prince said, handing her, her bandana. "I hope we shall meet again miss Josephina."

They had met again. Several times in fact. It seemed either the prince was deliberately looking for her or that fate had wanted them to continuously run into each other. They had steadily grown more and more fond of each other as time went on. One day the prince had told her to call him by his name. Josephina had never felt so happy as she had in those days with the prince. Little did she know that in would all soon be torn apart.

One day, while helping her little sister Sarina in the garden, Josephina had been seized by guards. She told her little sister to go inside and stay there until their parents returned. As she was dragged up to the church she wondered what on earth was going on. As she entered the church she saw her prince and a young nun standing at the far end. What was happening? Why did her prince look so sad? She asked what was going on and the nun informed her that she was being convicted of witchcraft. Horror filled Josephina's face and she turned her gaze on her prince. Did he believe that? The answer soon became clear, as he took his knife, the knife she had given him as a gift two months ago, to cut away her long hair.

The trial was slow, as Josephina refused to say a word to anyone that spoke to her. She was broken. She had been betrayed by the man she loved the most and no matter what she said, she was going to die. Why bother to say anything? Even as she was tied to the cross and burned, Josephina Willow, did not utter a single sound. The only thing that the on lookers registered, was the tears, slowly, silently, falling down her cheeks. And then she was no more.

Joey finished her song, breathing heavily and covered in sweat.

Yoko pressed a button to allow her to talk to the young singer. "Good job, Jo. Come on in and I'll play the recording for you."

The gang was about to leave, when Yoko ordered them to stay where they were. As Joey walked into the room, she froze stock still when she saw the group of friends sitting on the ground. They all smiled sheepishly and waved, except for Mokuba, who asked Joey how 'he' managed to make his voice so girly. Joey was a bright red as she tried to figure out how to explain the she was a girl. But, Téa saved her.

"Don't be mean, Mokuba. That's your brother's job." She turned to Joey. "We knew Joey. We all knew."

"Say what?" Joey said, completely dumfounded.

"Sorry, but, you're not that subtle, bud." Tristan said. "I think the only one who doesn't know is Kaiba. You never go swimming, you wear big baggy clothes... It was obvious you were a girl."

Joey was completely shocked. They knew this whole time? Well at least Kaiba didn't know, that was something. Joey managed to bribe them into not telling anyone that she was 'Ruin', by letting them have an early draft of her new disc and the recording from today, along with a guarantee that they'd be the first to get the completed disc, when it was ready. Mokuba already had plans for his recording disc.

He'd seen the way she looked at Kaiba when she thought no one was looking. That song she'd sung was just like a story that Kaiba had told him when they were still in the orphanage. Kaiba had said he'd made up that story and that, aside from Mokuba, there was only one other person that knew it. If that was the case, then Joey was that other person, if not, Kaiba had found it in a book and Joey had just blown his lie. Either way, Kaiba was going to want to find the writer of the song. And when he did, Mokuba had a plan.

"Big brother." Mokuba called as he entered Kaiba's study. "You have to listen to this disc I got."

"Mokuba, I'm a little busy right now." Kaiba said patiently.

"Come on, it'll be real quick. I swear, you'll be surprised." Mokuba pleaded.

Kaiba sighed in exasperation. "Fine. Let's hear it."

Mokuba smiled and handed Kaiba the headphones that were plugged into his walkman. When Kaiba had them securely on his head, Mokuba hit the 'play' button. There was no immediate reaction as the song began, other than to comment on the fact that the song was 'Ruin' and obviously had no instrumentals, meaning it was unfinished. As it got into the story, however, Kaiba's eyes widened in shock. He knew this story. It was his story. His and Josephina's. Oh, yes, Kaiba remembered, or rather, he couldn't forget. It was his penance. To forever be haunted with his betrayal of the one he loved most.

He had first seen her helping her sister in the garden and singing softly. He was entranced by her instantly. Her long golden hair, soft amber eyes that held such joy, and her beautiful, sweet voice. In that moment, she was absolute perfection. He had wanted to meet her, but never knew how to, without her being nervous. Then, it seemed God had answered his prays.

One day, while wondering the town, he had spotted a bandana that looked just like that girl's, flying on the breeze. Reaching out his hand, he caught it easily. Soon after, the very girl he had so wanted to meet came running up to him, out of breath, a bag in one hand and a relieved smile on her face.

"Excuse me, your Highness." She said, smile never vanishing. "That bandana you have, it's mine. May I have it back?"

He smiled at her warmly. "Of course you can, miss..."

"Josephina." She replied with a graceful curtsy. "Josephina Willow."

"Josephina. That's a lovely name." He meant it. He truly did think that. He handed her, her bandana. "I hope we shall meet again Miss Josephina."

He had made sure they met again. With every day, he grew more fond of her. The day he told her to call him by his name, she'd blushed a bright red, but obeyed. The day they kissed, he wasn't sure who initiated it. But, he was so happy. He'd never been so happy, as he had in those days with Josephina. But, then it was all destroyed, and by his hand.

He had been approached by a nun from the town's church and told that Josephina was in fact, a witch. When he heard that, he couldn't believe his ears. Josephina a witch? He said he did not believe it but the nun persisted. She told him of several men that had tried to court her, refusing all of them. The prince was not surprised she had so many suitors, she was a lovely women. But then the nun said about how she'd sing in the garden. The prince remembered that, it was when he'd first seen her. The nun said that all of the men had heard her sing in her garden and had fallen entranced by her. He didn't want to believe it, he shouldn't have believed it. But as the nun continued, he did believe it. Josephina had been dragged up to the church and he, himself, had cut off the long hair he love so much. Throughout the trial, Josephina had not said a word, neither 'guilty' nor 'innocent'. Even as he watched her be tied up, she said nothing. Just looked blankly ahead of her with dead eyes, all the joy from that first day completely gone. As she was set alight, she did not even scream, it was as if her soul had already left long ago. But there was one thing that empty body did that still haunted him. It cried.

Months later he was still praying for her. One day, the young nun had asked him why he continued to pray for her. He had replied that even now, without any magic or spell, he still loved her. The nun had gotten angry demanding to know what a girl like Josephina had that no other woman did to capture the prince's heart. She'd demanded to know what it was Josephina had that she did not. The words had shock him. This woman was a nun, a young nun, but still a nun, and she was speaking of having a romantic relationship with him. All of a sudden the reality of it all came crashing down on him. This woman wanted a relationship with him, she'd been the one to talk him into believing Josephina was a witch. It had all been a ruse. A clever ruse to get rid of Josephina. And he'd fallen for it.

When the truth came out, the young nun had been sentenced for murder. The prince had gone to visit Josephina's family to apologise for what he'd done. Her parents were polite, obviously fearful for their last remaining child. Her sister, Sarina, however, had made it very clear to him that, despite her parent's politeness, he was no longer welcome there. He understood, of course, he'd cost them a daughter and a sister. He'd sworn to himself that if he ever got a second chance, he'd protect her, He would make things right and keep her safe from everything that wished to hurt her.

The song finished and Kaiba snapped back to reality. Mokuba smiled innocently at him.

"She's a good singer isn't she? Never thought she'd be 'Ruin' though."

"You met her?" Kaiba asked sounding calm.

"Yep."

"Who is she?"

"Sorry, can't tell you. The disc was part of the payment of silence. But," Mokuba smiled deviously. "I never said anything about not telling you where her studio is."

Kaiba had mixed feelings on this. One, his little brother was becoming too much like him, but two, he was getting the location of the girl that could be his Josephina.

Mokuba smiled. "You know where White Queen is right? Go there and asked for Yoko, she can tell you where she is."

Kaiba walked out of the house and to White Queen calmly. Even if he wanted to see her, there was still the chance that it wasn't Josephina and he had a reputation to uphold. He walked into the studio and asked of the girl 'Yoko'. Soon after came out a short girl with brown hair. She looked up at Kaiba.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked

"Yes. I was told you could help me find someone. The one that wrote this." Kaiba showed her the disc Mokuba had.

Yoko didn't need to listen to it to know what it was. There was only one person with handwriting that sloppy. "You're looking for Jo? Sorry she went home for the day she won't be back until tomorrow." Kaiba was about to ask where she lived until Yoko got a worried look on her face. She leaded in so she could whisper to him. "Actually, Jo's been coming in with scarps and bruises lately. I wouldn't think anything of it, she's always been a scrapper. But, lately they've been getting worse." Yoko bit her lip. "I'm getting worried. If you have that disc, that obviously means you're a friend of hers. I'd go check myself but..."

"What's her address?" Kaiba asked, starting to see where this was going.

Yoko wrote the address down on a piece of paper and handed it to him. He thanked her and took off at a run. Screw image, if someone was in danger, Josephina or not, he was not going to let it continue. Meanwhile, Yoko was pulling out her phone and dialling up the new number on it.

"Hook, Line, Sinker." She said to the person on the other end.

Kaiba rushed up the steps of the apartment block to the room written on the piece of paper and paused just outside to catch his breath. Just as he was about to knock, he heard a loud crash a feminine cry of pain. He tried the door knob and found it wasn't locked. He rushed in just as he saw a large man about to bring down his foot on the small figure on the ground. He tackled the man to the ground and turned to look at the other person. What he saw was quite the shock. It was Joey Wheeler.

The first thing he noticed was the large bruise on his cheek, the next thing he noticed was something that made it quite clear that 'he' was actually a she. Her shirt had been torn and was now half open, exposing her chest. She hadn't seemed to notice yet and Kaiba was thankful that she had bandages covering them, except for the very top where there was a little cleavage. The man was now trying to get back to his feet, and failing, obviously drunk. Not wanting to wait for the man, that he assumed was Mr Wheeler, Kaiba placed his coat over the younger Wheeler and pulled her out of the apartment with him.

"Hey, wait, Kaiba. What are you doing here? Would you slow down?" Joey said putting on her male voice.

"Drop the voice, Wheeler, your cover's already blown. And speaking of cover, I gave you my coat for a reason, now cover your chest."

Joey finally noticed her torn shirt and grabbed Kaiba's coat with her free hand, a bright blush on her face. There was silence for a moment before she spoke again, this time without the male voice.

"You still haven't told me why you were at my apartment or where we're going."

Kaiba handed her the disc the Mokuba had lent him. "That's part of the reason why. As to where we're going, it's quite simple. We're going to my place."

"What?! Mokuba told you... He promised. He promised he wouldn't. That _brat_." Joey groaned in despair before registering the last part. "Wait, your place? Why?"

"Because I am not going to let you stay in that apartment, after what I've just seen, for a good long while." Kaiba replied. Joey's reaction to the disc had confirmed that he'd had the right apartment. Now it was time to get some answers.

Kaiba dragged Joey into his room so he could look at her cheek. After treating it, Kaiba leaned against the wall next to the door, in case Joey got any ideas about leaving. They sat in silence for a few moments, before Joey decided to break it.

"Listen Kaiba, I appreciate you trying to help. But I should really get back to the apartment."

"Not on your life, Josephina." Kaiba said flatly. Joey spun around and stared at Kaiba, eyes wide with shock and horror. Kaiba smiled. "So you do remember. I thought so. Your song was just like the story I had told Mokuba when we were young."

"You... You remembered?"

"I couldn't forget." Kaiba said honestly. "It was, after all, my greatest mistake."

Joey blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I'd betrayed you, and all for a stupid lie. I'd allowed them to..." He trailed off.

"The flames hurt, but the most painful thing was that you thought the feelings I had were all a façade." Joey's eyes were sad, yet there were no tears.

Kaiba moved away from the wall and up to Joey pulling her into a hug. "I'm so sorry. I always seem to screw these things up. When I met you in this life, I thought you looked exactly like the you from that time. Only your hair was so short. It reminded me of my mistake, and infuriated me, because I thought still hadn't found you yet. I took my anger out on you, even after I'd sworn that next time I'd protect you. I'm sorry, Josephina. I'm so sorry."

"My name isn't Josephina in this life, stupid." Joey said gently. "But you're pretty close. It's Josephine."

"Josephine." Kaiba whispered her name as if it were a prayer. "Josephine. Josephine."

Joey felt a shiver run up her spine. Kaiba (Seto now?) had never spoken her name like that before, not even in their other life.

"K-Kaiba," she stammered.

"Seto." He corrected. "I already gave you permission to use my name before, didn't I?"

Kaiba leaned down to gently connect his lips to hers, holding her gently in his arms. Joey had a feeling she wasn't going to be going back to the apartment any time soon.

Mokuba dialled the number on his phone and waited for the person to pick up.

"Hey, Yoko." He greeted. "It work. They're up in my brother's room right now."

"Really?" Asked to young girl on the other end. "That's good."

"How did you know Joey was having issues at home?"

"I had my suspicions, but I didn't know anything for certain." Yoko said sadly. "I'm glad the plan worked. Jo's too proud to admit it, but she needs someone to take care of her. Kaiba proved that he can be that someone today."

"They really are alike." Mokuba agreed. "They both need each other. Big brother needs someone to remind him that, no matter how old I get he's still needed, and Joey needs someone to watch over her and remind her that there are people that want her here."

"They'll be good for each other." Yoko agreed.

"But I still don't know how both Joey and big brother knew the same story. I don't remember meeting Joey before the dualist kingdom tournament. When did they make it up?"


End file.
